Dec. 21, 2014 Every year my teen prefers experiential "go-see-do" gifts to anything I can wrap up and put under the tree, (other than a GoPro which was a 'save up' winner for a milestone birthday) and … [Read more...]

Aug. 20, 2016 Update Adding this report on the acceleration of archery as a sport for young girls, from the resource rich data gleaned from the fabulous Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. … [Read more...]

August 20, 2015 Update: More Back to School branding boondoggles...Remember when the G-force Gatorade tribe was caught red-handed with their marketing machinations of hawking sugar hydration to … [Read more...]

Nov. 25, 2015 Update World Aids Day is coming up Dec. 1st, and Durex is promoting the creation of a "condom emoji" to be used via social media to shorthand safety messages for public health.
April … [Read more...]

Update: March 7, 2013 It's official! The President Signed VAWA!
Feb. 28, 2013 Finally! The Violence Against Women Act has passed both the House and the Senate and is moving on for final signing by … [Read more...]

Feb 2, 2013 It's Ground Hog Day and as reliable as Punxsutawney Phil, parents and pundits await to see what shadows will be cast on kids from the Super Bowl media hype blaring at surround sound … [Read more...]

Jan. 2013-Shaping Youth has taken a first ever, full month long blog hiatus until Feb. 1, 2013.
You can follow our posts on Twitter in the interim while we unplug the blog to repower the system … [Read more...]

Dec. 31, 2012 Prequel to New Year's Eve...
Long gone are the days when I could host a “New Year's at Noon Bubble Wrap Stomp” and watch little kids gleefully squirt silly string at each other in … [Read more...]

Dec. 18, 2012 This year marks not only the 40th Anniversary of Title IX changing women’s sports forever, it’s also the 40th Anniversary of the cycle-breaking, movement-making pop culture childrens' … [Read more...]

Update June 10, 2014 (6-10-14 update: This graphic is a map of the 74 school shootings since Sandy Hook, compiled by Mark Gongloff of Everytown.org, Original Sandy Hook article at the end)Just since … [Read more...]

April 11, 2013 Update: Check out A Mighty Girl pics for Environmental Books and movies for green kidlit and Earth Day 2013!
Dec. 10, 2012 What to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature … [Read more...]

Dec. 4, 2012 No question I continue to land hard on watchdogs that aren’t woofin’ when it comes to media and marketing’s impact on kids, but nobody does it better than Campaign for a Commercial Free … [Read more...]

Nov. 26, 2012 With all the coinage and consumption swirling around Black Friday and Cyber Monday for people hunting “deals” I think it’s fitting to honor the organizations that deliver positive media … [Read more...]

Nov. 20, 2012 “To the moon!” was once an iconic working class phrase that 50s TV star Jackie Gleason made famous in mock-threat to his sitcom wife Alice in The Honeymooners. He'd shake his fist, “why, … [Read more...]

Dec. 7, 2016 Update Why not turn holiday gifting into a media literacy opportunity?
Tomorrow I'll be signing up once again for Samaritan House sorting and stocking for kids less fortunate and I … [Read more...]

Nov. 14, 2012 Call it karma, payback, or just ‘got caught,’ the class action lawsuit against Blizzard Entertainment (makers of mega-hits like Diablo, World of Warcraft, Starcraft etc) is really about … [Read more...]

Nov. 12, 2012 There’s irony noting many who’ve never served in the armed forces are in a firestorm of shoot ‘em ups with newly hyped titles lobbed into the media mix like grenades bombarding the … [Read more...]

Oct 24, 2012 Food Day 2012!
“I don’t need any finger-wagging salad munchers scolding me about junk food” ---no worries, not happening.
But if you'd like to be more informed about the reason for … [Read more...]

Oct. 23, 2012 As we wind down October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, with a four-week series by USA Today amidst controversies of “Not so Pretty in Pink” moments from survivors who are … [Read more...]